~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. July 2003 - Volume 6, Issue 14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment - People Do What People See * Leadership@Large - Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review - Turning Strategy Into Reality * Quick Quotes - Right Thinking ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PEOPLE DO WHAT PEOPLE SEE By Dr. John C. Maxwell In your life as a leader, many things are beyond your control. You can't control what your people say about you or think about you. You can't control the decisions prospective clients make about your company. You can't control your competitors' marketing tactics. You can't control the national economy, the stock market or the weather. But in the midst of an ever-changing, often uncertain environment, there is one thing over which you have absolute control--your integrity. When it comes to being honest, principled and ethical, you are the master of your own destiny. Other people and external forces might test it in various ways, but at the end of the day, you alone control your integrity. Integrity is all-encompassing. It's not something you demonstrate at home or church and set on a shelf at work. People of integrity don't live bifurcated lives; their morals, ethics, treatment of others and overall character are the same wherever they are, whatever they're doing. This foundational element of leadership crosses geographic, religious, cultural and socioeconomic boundaries. As Federal Express founder Fred Smith says, "If you look at every religion in the world, they all have the identical Golden Rule, almost word for word. It does not make any difference what religion or geography it is. There are universally transferable fundamental truths about how you treat people in both the business world and in the larger scheme of things." When you follow the Golden Rule and live with integrity, you set an example that has a far greater impact than any words you could ever speak. Why is leading by example such a powerful concept? I can answer that with five short words: People do what people see. It sounds so simple, but it's absolutely true. And it applies to so many areas of leadership. First of all, it's the No. 1 motivational principle. If you want to motivate your people to go to a whole new level, get motivated to grow and develop yourself. Remember--people do what people see. Second, it's the No. 1 training principle. When someone asks me, "How do you train your people?" I don't have to think twice about it--people do what people see. If they see their leaders constantly learning and acquiring new skills and competencies, they'll be inspired to do the same. Thirdly, "people do what people see" is the No. 1 mentoring principle. What do you do when you mentor someone? You flesh out your life for them--you give them an insider's view of what you're experiencing and how you're handling it. The goal, of course, is for the person you're mentoring to learn from your mistakes and successes so that when they are faced with something similar, they make the right choices. Finally, it's the No. 1 values principle. A company might spend a great deal of time formulating impressive-sounding values statements and core beliefs, but these principles don't mean anything unless the leaders in the company--from the corner office on down--model them consistently. Why is adhering to the right values such an important part of leading by example? Paul O'Neill, retired Alcoa chairman and former Treasury Secretary, gives us a clue: "If people can find even trivial examples of deviation, those deviations will become the norm," he says. "You really have to be almost religious in making sure that you don't do something somebody can point to in a negative way." In other words, if you want to lead by example in a positive way, you must be committed to living a life of integrity. When you're right on the inside, you lead correctly on the outside. It starts with you and spreads out to everyone in your circle of influence. If you want to be a successful leader in turbulent times, live with integrity and lead by example. Remember--people do what people see. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WORST PRACTICES A professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business has taken a decidedly unconventional approach to teaching about leadership. Rather than concentrate on best practices, 44-year-old Sydney Finkelstein focuses on "worst practices" and corporate mistakes. According to BusinessWeek Online, he has spent the last five years examining "big and small snafus at all sorts of companies," searching for a deeper understanding of the decisions that led to the missteps. "Some of the best learning comes from studying things that go wrong," says Finkelstein, who has used his research as classroom fodder and also as the basis for his new book, "Why Smart Executives Fail." At first, his students were skeptical about his "upside-down" method of teaching management. But after offering "Learning from Corporate Mistakes" as an elective for a year, Tuck has folded Finkelstein's class into its revamped MBA program as part of a mandatory first-year course. "It's counterintuitive, but he's doing an important thing," says fellow Tuck professor Paul A. Argenti. "He's saying, 'Here's how people screwed up. Don't do that.'" For more information, see http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2003/ sb20030529_9875.htm _________________________________________________________________ GUEST COMMENTS: MANAGING STRESS BY MAKING TIME FOR SERENITY By Dick Biggs "Plagued by stress, a growing number of people say they think time is becoming more precious than money and they're trying to slow down." --U. S. News & World Report cover story and survey A stress fracture is supposed to be very painful. It happens when a bone has been "subjected to repeated stress" and develops a hairline fracture. Did you know that your body is no different than a single bone? If subjected to enough stress, your body will break down and you could experience physical, mental and emotional pain, or even disease and death. Webster defines stress as "a state of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter existent equilibrium." In other words, if your tension level gets out of balance, you could suffer a stress fracture of the body! Frankly, a stress-free life is idealistic and would be boring. On the other hand, a stressed-out life can lead to burnout, which is the extinguishing of your spiritual, mental, physical or emotional enthusiasm. Between boring and burnout, there's a balance based on managing stress by making time for serenity. What are your biggest stressors? More importantly, are you offsetting your stress with times of tranquility? In today's competitive business world, such a delicate balance is difficult but doable if you're willing to simplify your life. For example, my wife Judy and I use the week between Christmas and New Year's Day to plan the stress-free moments of our lives for the coming year. We know we can't eliminate all the stress from our professions, so we schedule specific moments of serenity in our personal lives. We plan things like vacations, weekend getaways, marriage retreats, church and community outreach projects, personal growth seminars, family reunions, etc. We've learned that the year has a way of getting away from us if we don't schedule specific stress-free times on our calendars. Actually, just having some fun events to look forward to is a form of stress relief. And when we're able to enjoy some spontaneous tranquility, that's a welcomed bonus. In short, we manage stress by making time for serenity. Apparently, we aren't the only ones who've decided enough is enough. In the U. S. News & World Report survey cited above, Americans were asked to rank the major areas where they wanted to spend their time. The top five on "The Happiness Index" were --Family life (68%) --Spiritual life (46%) --Health (44%) --Financial situation (24%) --Jobs (23%). Where do you stand on this index? Could you use a little less work and a lot more stress relief? If so, I urge you to take control of your life and make some bold changes. You'll be happier, healthier and yes, even more productive at work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TURNING STRATEGY INTO REALITY "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done" By Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan (Crown Business, 2002) There is much to appreciate about "Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done." The authors' credentials are impressive. Larry Bossidy is an acclaimed executive who held a number of high-level positions at General Electric, led Allied Signal through a long period of sustained growth and now serves as chairman of Honeywell International, while Ram Charan is a well-known advisor to senior executives and author of several other books, including "What the CEO Wants You to Know." Their message--that leaders who want to deliver promised results must be deeply engaged in their organization's people process, its strategy and its operating plan, and that these three core processes must be intentionally linked together--is powerful and timely. Their description of the seven essential behaviors of a leader (among them, "know your people and your business," "insist on realism" and "reward the doers") is compelling, as is their explanation of how a leader's "most important job"--choosing and evaluating people--should be done and why it should never be delegated. The authors' discussion about what execution is and the difference that it makes, their emphasis on the importance of "robust dialogue" relating to each of the three core processes and the guidance they provide about how to develop a realistic strategic plan also are among the book's strengths. But "Execution" has its drawbacks. For example, the book's jacket claims it "shows how to get the job and deliver results...whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job." Such a statement might prompt someone in the latter category to invest in a copy, but for the most part, the content seems to be directed at senior executives. Considering the authors' qualifications, this isn't surprising. But while lower-level leaders can glean valuable insights from parts of the book (particularly the sections on why execution is needed and the building blocks of execution), some may not want to invest the time and energy needed to filter the information and apply it to their smaller spheres of influence. Another negative is that a significant percentage of the examples Bossidy and Charan use are from very large corporations, many of them in the manufacturing sector. Again, this is not unexpected, given the authors' experience. But for variety's sake--and to appeal to a wider audience--it would have been helpful if they had included some illustrations from some much smaller, service- oriented firms. Finally, while the first half of "Execution" flowed quite smoothly, the writing in the second half was rather tedious. In fact, by the time I reached the final two chapters, I was beginning to wonder if--to echo the subtitle--I had the discipline I needed to finish the task of reading this book. I did manage to stick with it, which was good because Bossidy and Charan saved their best for last. The "Letter to a New Leader" at the end of the book is a five-page conclusion written in a candid, conversational style that is quite different from the rest of the book. This part truly would be beneficial for any leader--"whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RIGHT THINKING "The time is always right to do what is right." - Martin Luther King Jr. "It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance." - Thomas Huxley "Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly bigger man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error." - Gen. Peyton C. March _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/Newsletters. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. Visitors may use the information contained in this e-newsletter by placing the following credit line: "This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.INJOY.com." This information cannot be used for resale in any manner. Copyright (c) 2003, INJOY, Inc.